re-animation after 15 years

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Missouri Bob

Missouri Bob

One of my buddies just called to tell me that his dad is giving his 1973 R75/5 to my buddy. It has been parked in a garage for 15 years without running. The plan is to ride it back to Colorado from the East Coast.

Help me put together a list of things that will need attention before it goes on the road.

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Bullett

Bullett

Maybe pull of the valve covers and check to make sure the piston isn't attached to the cylinder head. I'm not sure exactly how to check this, but I was able to start and run my R26 after many years of sitting even though part of the piston was stuck to the cylinder. My bike seemed to turn over OK before I tried starting it.

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Marty Hill

Marty Hill

What Dougie says makes sense. Better to have it home where you can fix the one thing that was missed than find it out on the road. Riding across the country is fun for the first 20+ times, after that shipping and flying seems to be a very good idea!

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Dennis Andress

Dennis Andress

Change all the oils. BMW's specs for those forks was Dexron ATF. 10 wt fork oil is a better choice. Make sure there is no dirt or corrosion on the part of the fork tube which will slide through the seals.

The old steal gas tanks had sealant on the inside. It'll need two new petcocks (rebuilding them would be marginal.) Get rebuild kits for the carbs, including diaphragms.

Points, plugs, plug wires, tires, and it should be ready to go. The brakes are going to suck.

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Green RT

Green RT

The only thing I would add is that I would recommend putting a few hundred miles on it locally after replacing things and before starting off cross country. It is better to have a problem 10 miles from his dad's garage than in the middle of Kansas.

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Missouri Bob

Missouri Bob

I heard from my buddy this morning, in Colorado. Aside from a flat tire, he didn’t have any problems. Parts replaced: battery, tires, tubes, fluids. I neglected to ask about the plugs and points.

No gas tank repair was needed. The carburetor diaphragms were still good. By his account, the petcocks will need attention, eventually. He put a few miles on the R75 before leaving Connecticut, enough to convince him that the bike was sound.

Oh, and I was wrong when I stated that the bike had been stored for 15 years. The license plate was from 1984, 32 years ago.

Bob

Edited September 12, 2016 by Bob_Sheehan

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Jake

Jake

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T.M. Roe

T.M. Roe

In 1980 I was given a 1973 Olds 98. It had been sitting in a driveway with the heads off. The motor was filled with rain water and stuck. I rebuilt that motor in the driveway, started the car, drove to the corner gas station where I filled the tank and rented a U Haul trailer. I returned home packed some stuff and the next morning drove that car from Las Vegas to Minneapolis where it sat till February when I drove it back to LV.

Ah to be ten foot tall and bullet proof again. Three years of A&P school and a box of tools didn't hurt either.

My dad who was born in 1910 didn't think a thing about heading out across the country in what ever.

He had started doing it in Model A's. My brother jokes about Dad stopping the car in the middle of nowhere and replacing the fuel line from the tank to the carb. No big deal.

Fixing and riding that old beemer cross country like that is way cool but why has it become so unusual these days? Have we lost our stones?

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Dennis Andress

Dennis Andress

In 1980 I was given a 1973 Olds 98. It had been sitting in a driveway with the heads off. The motor was filled with rain water and stuck. I rebuilt that motor in the driveway, started the car, drove to the corner gas station where I filled the tank and rented a U Haul trailer. I returned home packed some stuff and the next morning drove that car from Las Vegas to Minneapolis where it sat till February when I drove it back to LV.

Ah to be ten foot tall and bullet proof again. Three years of A&P school and a box of tools didn't hurt either.

My dad who was born in 1910 didn't think a thing about heading out across the country in what ever.

He had started doing it in Model A's. My brother jokes about Dad stopping the car in the middle of nowhere and replacing the fuel line from the tank to the carb. No big deal.

Fixing and riding that old beemer cross country like that is way cool but why has it become so unusual these days? Have we lost our stones?

Still have mine, still 10 foot tall too. But, I now know I'm not bullet proof, and failure has so many more consequences these days...